Indian Lottery Kingpin Revealed as Top Political Donor
NEW DELHI — Santiago Martin, the Indian man who struck gold selling lottery tickets, has emerged as the leading contributor to political parties through a contentious funding program.
Martin’s company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt. Ltd, splurged a whopping 13.68bn rupees ($165m, £130m) on electoral bonds between April 2019 and January 2024. This scheme allowed donors to keep their identities hidden, until the Supreme Court intervened and demanded transparency by publishing their names. While not illegal, electoral bonds have faced criticism for making political funding more obscure.
Recent revelations show that over 5bn rupees of Martin’s bonds went to the regional Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, governing Tamil Nadu where Martin kickstarted his business. The beneficiaries of the remaining funds are yet to be disclosed.
A peek into Martin’s life uncovers a captivating tale of rags-to-riches, transforming from a daily-wage laborer to the mastermind behind a lottery empire spanning multiple Indian states and even Bhutan.
However, the 63-year-old magnate is no stranger to controversy — plagued by political scandals and financial irregularity accusations, including involvement in lottery fraud.
Despite the electoral bonds bombshell, Martin has maintained a tight-lipped stance. The BBC’s attempts to reach out to Future Gaming and Martin’s wife, Leema Rose Martin, have gone unanswered.
Reports suggest Martin hails from the Andaman islands, laboring as a teen in Myanmar before gravitating towards a tea shop in Tamil Nadu in the 1980s.
The widespread allure of lottery tickets, particularly among the less fortunate, spurred him to embark on a business journey that would ultimately lead to millionaire status.
Establishing his initial shop in Coimbatore city, Martin quickly outpaced competitors to become the foremost vendor of lottery tickets in Tamil Nadu.
He elevated the sales of “two-digit” lottery tickets, scratch cards revealing two digits that buyers could cross-check against live telecast winning numbers facilitated by his company.
A political observer, speaking to the BBC on anonymity, recalls witnessing throngs huddled before modest shops, fixated on lottery draws on minuscule TV sets.
The allure of instant wealth fueled escalating sales, yet critics argue it drove many towards financial ruin.
Martin’s lottery tickets soon found a receptive market in neighboring states like Karnataka and Kerala before expanding to northern and north-eastern India.
In a 2001 rediff.com interview, Martin disclosed selling 12 million lottery tickets daily, with agreements in place with various state governments for ticket distribution.
The article highlighted Martin’s massive daily payments — 350,000 rupees in sales tax to Tamil Nadu and 759,000 rupees upfront to Sikkim — underscoring his business’s resounding success.
“I succeeded because I grasped the psychology of the buyer and the tricks of the trade,” Martin stated in the interview.
However, the article also flagged an income-tax department probe against Martin, citing charges like claiming prize money from unsold tickets and manipulating lottery draws. Martin’s associates dismissed the allegations, attributing them to rivals colluding with politicians to sabotage his enterprise.
In 2003, Tamil Nadu’s then-chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, outlawed lottery ticket sales following reports of financial devastation due to lotteries, dealing a severe blow to Martin.
In 2011, during Jayalalithaa’s tenure, Martin faced arrest and a brief jail stint in a land-grabbing case before securing bail.
Martin’s company is entangled in lottery fraud cases across states like Kerala. In 2023, India’s financial crimes unit seized assets and bank deposits worth 4.5bn rupees linked to Martin and his associates in a Sikkim lottery fraud case.
While Martin remains unconvicted in these cases, his company’s website asserts Future Gaming’s commitment to compliance with regulations in all operational spheres.
The website also reveals Martin’s business diversification into real estate, hospitality, and steel sectors.
Prior to the electoral bonds expose, Martin made headlines for alleged ties to political factions.
In 2007, a scandal erupted in Kerala when communist chief minister VS Achuthanandan denounced his party’s acceptance of a 20m rupees donation from Martin, leading to the funds’ return.
Achuthanandan’s campaign against illegal lotteries in the state underpinned this move.
In 2011, Martin produced a Tamil film based on Maxim Gorky’s novel ‘Mother’, scripted by DMK’s leader M Karunanidhi. Despite a 200m rupees budget, the movie garnered largely negative reviews.
In 2019, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin sued a magazine for defamation over claims of a 5bn rupees deal with Martin for DMK. Stalin refuted the allegations, branding them as fiction and denying any donations from Martin.
The electoral bonds data has sparked skepticism in Tamil Nadu, questioning DMK’s acceptance of Martin’s donations amidst a state lottery ban. The party remained mum on BBC’s queries but asserted no governmental concessions to Martin’s company.
Notably, Martin’s family members align with diverse political entities — his son-in-law in the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and his wife Leema in the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, both significant players in the political landscape. — BBC
